In the previous post on the Strengthen-Weaken question type, we discussed that there were three argument types around which strengthen-weaken type of questions are posed Plan of Action (PoA) X causes Y Correlation-Causation We discussed the PoA type of argument in that post, in this one we will look at the second type – X causes Y.
We have covered almost all the Critical Reasoning question types on the blog. A few readers had asked for specific posts on the Strengthen/Weaken Type, so the next few posts will cover these two question types in detail. Strengthen/Weaken question types together constitute the maximum number of questions out of the 13-15 Critical Reasoning questions you will encounter on the Verbal section of the GMAT. Strengthen/Weaken questions are usually broadly based on three types of argument structures: Plan of Action X causes Y Correlation-Causation We will take up one argument structure at a time and discuss the process to solve each type.
As most test-takers would know a majority of the Critical Reasoning questions you will encounter will belong to the Strengthen-Weaken Type — out of the 13-14 Critical Reasoning questions you will encounter at the least 5 will be from these two types. You will posed with 1-2 questions from each of the other question types. While the Boldfaced Question, is most famous and understandably toughest question type, which we discussed in this post, the Complete The Passage question is the least understood of question types.
Arguably the toughest GMAT Critical Reasoning question-type, the boldfaced question is feared by many GMAT test-takers. In fact many test-takers feel very good if they encounter a boldfaced question on test-day since they link it to having performed well on the test — if it is the toughest question type then getting a boldfaced question means that one has successfully answered the medium-level questions.
The Evaluate Question Type on the GMAT® is perhaps the question type that best tests your technique on Critical Reasoning questions. Whatever the question type there two things that are a must-do if you want to develop a flawless technique to answer GMAT® Critical Reasoning Questions: • Precisely Identify The Argument • Clearly Define What The Right Option Should Do The answer options on this question type are always framed in the form of questions. So the best way to tackle this question is to evaluate the argument with respect to answer to each question.
In the previous post on Critical Reasoning we looked at the method of tackling statistics-based CR questions on the GMAT®. Let us look at another statistics-based questions to reinforce our learning. As discussed in the previous post, the answer to a statistics-based question will either be a statistic or an interpretation of the stat being discussed in the argument. More often than not, test-takers answer these questions incorrectly because they do not take time out to understand the stat being discussed. The GMAT® question below is the best example.
Critical Reasoning questions on the GMAT® , often have questions that have some stats. The most important thing to remember is that stats-based questions have stats-based answers or answers that require an interpretation of the stats. So answer options that give explanations that do not have a statistical implication can easily be ruled out. Let us look at the question below.
In the previous post, we took up an Assumption Question for discussion. The objective was to try to correctly apply The Negation Method to a tough question and eliminate the trap options; so let’s dive in.
Let’s discuss! In the previous post, we discussed the standard operating procedure to solve Assumption Questions – The Negation Method. The best way to really test whether you have understood a particular method of solving is to test it against tough questions. What makes a GMAT CR question tough? A tough question has trap options that are extremely relevant to the passage making it tough to eliminate them. Also, unlike a medium-level question, a tough question might have three close options, two which are very close and one close enough to be in the consideration set.
The Assumption Question is a Critical Reasoning Question Type on the GMAT® that gives test-takers a certain amount of trouble (the most troublesome being the Boldfaced Question Type). Test-takers often say that they have trouble in attaining a certain level of consistency on this question type. In this post we shall look at a standard operating procedure that will help you increase your accuracy level and choose the right option when faced with two seemingly correct options.
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